The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad has granted post-arrest bail to journalist Waheed Murad in a cybercrime case.
Judge Abbas Shah approved Murad’s bail against surety bonds of Rs50,000, after the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) failed to present substantial evidence in the case. During the hearing, FIA officials presented the journalist before the Islamabad court after completing his two-day physical remand.
Judge Abbas Shah questioned the FIA officials on what material had been recovered from journalist Waheed Murad. The journalist’s legal counsels, Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, argued that their client had merely quoted statements made by Baloch leader Akhtar Mengal, which were already in the public domain. The FIA contended that the post referred to alleged Baloch genocide and was therefore under investigation. After hearing arguments, the court granted bail to Waheed Murad.
Islamabad city’s journalist Waheed Murad was arrested on March 26 at 2 am after being allegedly abducted from his residence and later handed over to the FIA. During a previous court appearance, Waheed Murad told the judge that police forcibly entered his home, took him away, and assaulted his mother-in-law. His lawyers, Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, revealed that Waheed Murad had already filed a petition for protection from illegal detention before his arrest. The FIA had sought a 10-day physical remand, alleging that Murad’s social media posts supported the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). However, the judge only granted a two-day remand at the time.
Following his alleged abduction, Murad’s mother-in-law, Abida Nawaz, filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his disappearance on the same day, March 26. She alleged that at 2 am on March 26, armed men in black uniforms forcibly took Murad away from his house in Sector G-8 while also misbehaving with her.
